


To Find a Home

by IvoryLotus



Series: Moments in Time [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Biting, Bonds, First Meetings, M/M, Mates, Natsu after Igneel Left, Pre-Series, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:27:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24767743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvoryLotus/pseuds/IvoryLotus
Summary: Natsu has been searching for Igneel for three months without any luck, but perhaps he will find something, or rather someone, else instead.
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster
Series: Moments in Time [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1791160
Comments: 4
Kudos: 123





	To Find a Home

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a professional writer or even a decent one so read at your own risk.

Natsu didn’t know what to do. He sat down by an unknown river, unsure if he could walk another step. 

He had been searching for Igneel for nearly three months without any luck. I took nearly a month to figure out how to speak the language of the people who lived in the country he currently found himself in. He and Igneel moved around frequently enough that learning new languages had become second nature. However, even after learning how to speak the language, no one seems to have seen any dragon, let alone a fire dragon. To make matters worse, everyone he asks seems to think he is crazy or playing a prank on them. 

He hasn’t been able to pick up Igneel’s scent or find any trace of him even having been here. He is running out of options and every day that goes by makes it seem less and less likely he will find his father. Igneel had always been home, and without him he had nowhere to go. Nowhere he belonged. 

The tears started falling before he could stop them, all the emotions he felt since Igneel first disappeared, confusion, despair, anger, frustration, manifesting as tears and escaping in gut-wrenching sobs. He didn’t know how long he sat by the river crying before he decided enough was enough, and roughly cleaned his face in the river. 

He stood up with the intention of finding food only to freeze when he heard a twig snap, his head whipping in the direction of the noise. He let his magic build, flames beginning to dance around his closed fist in preparation for whatever was about to come. He lifted his nose to test the air. Whatever was coming smelled human, but Natsu learned early on in his search not to trust humans. Humans were greedy and lied to get whatever they wanted. 

Natsu felt like he was ready for anything as the bush in front of him began to rustle. 

Anything, it would seem, with the exception of a little old man, shorter than Natsu, falling from the bush and landing flat on his face. He sprung back up, brushing dirt and leaves off of him, mumbling about bushes and leaves and walking.

“Uh...” Natsu wasn’t really sure what to make of the little old man. He let his flames die but kept his magic at the ready. “Are you okay?” 

The little old man looks up in apparent surprise, but Natsu has a feeling he knew Natsu was there all along, and studies him briefly before smiling brightly. “Yes, I’m quiet all right. You, on the other hand, look rather upset. Is everything okay?” 

Natsu can tell the old man is tougher than he looks and it leaves him wary, but the evidence of his tears is clearly still visible so lying is out of the question. 

“I’m looking for a fire dragon named Igneel; have you seem him?” He is still hesitant about trusting this stranger, but something about him makes him want to. 

The old man doesn’t laugh at him or call him crazy but simply gives him a considering look before shaking his head in the negative. “I’m afraid I haven’t,” Natsu was expecting that answer but he still felt the disappointment hit him like a physical blow. “May I ask why you are looking for a fire dragon?” He seemed genuinely curious, and the lack of ridicule made all the tension melt from his frame. 

Natsu spent the next few hours telling the little old man, whose name he learned was Makarov, all about his adoptive father. Makarov listened attentively while Natsu talked and it was the first time since he lost Igneel that he didn’t feel like he was free falling. 

He was interrupted mid story by his stomach growling, reminding him that he still hadn’t eaten today. 

Apparently Makarov heard it to because he laughed before offering to buy Natsu some food. Natsu wanted to accept, thrilled at the idea of food, but his wariness from earlier was creeping back up. He liked Makarov, he was the first person who actually believed, and he didn’t want to be distrustful, but he also didn’t know anything about him other than his name. Makarov seemed to sense his hesitation and was quick to adjust. 

“How about we head into town and I can tell you about myself while you eat?” Natsu thought about it for a moment before agreeing. 

Over the course of the meal he learned Makarov was the master of a guild called Fairy Tail. He explained what guilds were and what life was like as a guild wizard. It all sounded amazing. 

It sounded like a home. 

Natsu sighed deeply as his mood dipped at the reminder that he no longer had a home. 

“You know, you could come to Fairy Tail if you want,” Makarov offered, picking up on Natsu’s change in mood. “There are a lot of kids in the guild your age who don’t have anywhere else to go. You would fit right in!” Natsu wants to agree but the thought of Igneel makes him hesitate, before Makarov continues. “You could continue your search for Igneel while working as a wizard in the guild.” 

That settled things for Natsu. Looks like he was going to Fairy Tail. 

\---

The next day found Natsu following the newly dubbed Gramps into the Fairy Tail guild hall. 

Everyone was loud and full of energy when they walked in and Natsu knew he would like it here. The guild was full of interesting people with amazing magic and he could see himself finding a home here. 

It was around noon when the doors to the guild opened and the breeze carried in a scent that had Natsu turning to find the source. It smelled like crisp pine needle, warm cedar, and freshly fallen snow, and the combination was leaving him a little lightheaded. 

He followed the scent to a boy with black hair, midnight blue eyes, and a cold indifferent mask firmly in place, but Natsu could see right through that mask to the radiant soul beneath. 

Mate. 

He sat shocked as he waited for the reality of finding his mate to sink in. 

\---

Gray walked into the guild hall around noon and let the warm atmosphere of the guild wash over him. 

He hadn’t been a member for very long, and still had trouble letting people in, but the guild was the only place he felt anything other than the frozen shield he built around his heart. The warmth and joy of the guild were just enough to remind him that he was still alive. 

Almost as soon as he walked in he noticed a crowd of people surrounding a boy about his age with pink hair, olive green eyes, and a smile that rivaled the sun. 

They locked eyes from across the room and Gray watched as the smile dimmed only to be replaced by a shocked expression. Gray didn’t know what the boy could have seen that would have shocked him, but he was upset that he had lost the boys smile as a result. 

Gray started to make his way over to the small group without even making the conscious decision to do so, it felt almost like gravity had shifted, and instead of pulling him down to Earthland, he was now drawn toward the pink haired boy with the blinding smile. 

As he walked over to the new boy in the guild, or at least he hoped he was joining the guild, he could feel his nerves growing. He wasn’t sure why but he knew this boy was going to become very important to him and he wanted to make a good first impression. 

The boy noticed his approach and the smile returned, much to his joy, but morphed into a look of confusion just as Gray came to a stop in front of him. 

“Umm… what happened to your clothes?” He questioned. 

Gray looked down in shock to see he had shed everything but his underwear. “What the-?” Was it possible to die from humiliation?

The boy in front of him burst into laughter, and Gray was distracted from his embarrassment by the pure joy on the pink haired boys face as he laughed. 

“You stripped off nearly all your clothes without even noticing?!” he laughed, clearly amused by Gray’s unfortunate habit. 

Gray’s embarrassment returned full force, and with it, a little anger. It wasn’t his fault he developed a stripping habit. 

“Well at least I don’t have pink hair!” he yelled without thinking. 

Honestly, he wanted to smack himself for literally insulting him the moment they met. Hell, he hasn’t even learned his name yet! 

The pink haired boy narrowed his eyes, and most people assumed he was angry, but Gray could see the humor sparkling in his eyes, and Gray relaxed a little, suddenly more at ease with their interaction. 

“You want to fight stripper?” he challenged, and Gray was never one to back down from a fight. 

“Let’s go pinky!” he yelled before launching himself at the other boy. 

Punches and kicks were thrown and Gray had to admit they were evenly matched in hand-to-hand combat, but he wasn’t about to lose. Gray brought his magic forward, the air around him chilling, as he readied his spell, intending to freeze the boy in place. 

There were some shouts of alarm as people began to wonder if things were getting out of hand. Gray was young but his magic was strong and he had already proven himself to be a more than capable wizard. Fighting someone with little or no experience could be very dangerous. 

Everyone looked to Master Makarov but he seemed more amused than anything, so everyone turned their attention back to the fight just in time to see Gray encase the new boy in ice. 

Everyone jumped up to help the now frozen boy, but a second later the ice began to glow red before exploding, sending half melted shards in every direction. Gray stood in shock, along with the rest of the guild, at the boy now surrounded by flames. 

“You’re going to have to try harder than that snowflake!” he taunted, already charging forward, his flames now contained to both fists. 

Gray was quick to recover, encasing his own fists in magic to freeze anything he touched, and the fight continued. 

The fight came to an end when the pink haired boy created a wall of flames that he ran through, getting inside Gray’s guard, and sinking his teeth into the junction of Gray’s neck and shoulder. 

“I won!” he declared with a bright smile, blood still shining on his lips. 

Gray sat stunned, suddenly able to feel the boy’s joy, almost as if he were experiencing it himself, but he could tell it belonged to the boy in front of him. Gray gave himself a mental shake when he felt some trepidation begin to seep through the bond, dimming the joy he had felt just moments before. 

“Well don’t get used to it flame brain! I’ll win next time!” he proclaimed, hoping the new boy would understand that he wasn’t rejecting whatever it was between them, assuming the connection went both ways. He felt the joy flair to life again, and relaxed now that he knew he hadn’t screwed anything up before it even began. 

“I’ll take you anytime snowflake, and the name is Natsu!” 

“It’s Gray, not snowflake!” 

Gray was about to continue their verbal sparring match when half the guild surrounded the young fire mage, bombarding him with questions about his magic and where he learned it. 

He was more than a little irritated at having the fire mage stolen from him, but a gentle wave of affection and amusement brushed up against his mind via the new bond between himself and the other boy, and he felt his irritation melt away. As Natsu interacted with other members of the guild, Gray could sense Natsu’s emotions, and every so often an intentional nudge, like Natsu was trying to let him know that he still had his attention. 

Gray felt incredibly smug about this and started to examine the mental bond a little more closely within his mind. He knew he should be a little more concerned by a mysterious mental connection to a boy he literally just met, but something about the bond felt right, like he finally found where he was meant to be. 

\---

Natsu couldn’t be happier. He had found his mate and claimed him, and said mate accepted the claim! A partial bond wouldn’t have formed if both hadn’t been willing. 

Natsu was caught off guard as other people within the guild swarmed him to ask questions about his magic and where he learned it. 

Honestly, it was like they had never seen a dragon slayer before. 

He was initially surprised since his entire focus had been on his mate Gray, but quickly settled into the group of excited people and started answering their questions. He felt a flare of irritation and a hint of jealously through the bond and sent a wave of affection and amusement toward his mate. The fact that he could feel his mates’ emotions and convey his own left him beyond excited since it meant their bond would be a particularly strong one. 

Most partial bonds would simply give the pair a heightened awareness of each other, and it wouldn’t be until a full bond was formed during their first mating that they would be able to sense each other’s emotions. It was practically unheard of for mates to be able to sense each other’s emotions with a partial bond only, and Natsu had never heard of a pair being able to sense emotions immediately after a bond is formed. 

He felt the irritation melt away and sent a nudge of acknowledgement through the bond to let his mate know he was still thinking of him. 

There would still be things he would need to discuss with Gray in private, things he would need to explain, but for now he was going to join Fairy Tail and bask in the cool, calming presence of his mate in the back of his mind.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading all the way until the end! 
> 
> So Natsu and Gray are both age 11 at the time of this story.


End file.
